1 of 2
Photo courtesy of David Agee.
Above: An aerial view of GeoStone and SiteOne Stone Center on U.S. 280 in Chelsea on March 27. SiteOne recently acquired GeoStone to merge the two companies.
2 of 2
Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
GeoStone and SiteOne Stone Center’s sign.
“You see them every day, but until you need one yourself, you don’t really think about it.”
That’s how David Agee describes retaining walls. And he should know — retaining walls are a family business.
Agee’s father, Fred, was a homebuilder and invented a product called GeoStone, which he used to build the first patented segmental retaining wall in Alabama.
“My dad wasn’t just a guy in a lab coat. He was a boots-on-the-ground kind of guy,” David Agee said. “He knew how concrete was made and installed.”
GeoStone Retaining Walls, located in Westover, has been building retaining walls since 1998. Agee said retaining walls are crucial to the stability and architectural appeal of outdoor projects.
“We’re the same people who do the big walls you see at The Summit,” he said.
And now, the GeoStone material that Agee’s father invented will be the exclusive in-house brand for a national landscaping supply company.
GeoStone negotiated with SiteOne Landscape Supply, which has a location on Alabama 119, to exclusively use the GeoStone system. The Westover location has been redesigned as SiteOne’s only Stone Center in Alabama.
“SiteOne is the only company that can sell the GeoStone brand, although they still carry other brands,” Agee said. While the new SiteOne Stone Center will be the sole stone-only location, GeoStone products will be available at SiteOne’s other locations too.
“Until a few months ago, our biggest competitor was SiteOne,” said Agee, who is now the commercial design and engineering lead for SiteOne. “We finally started talking to them, and we said, ‘What if we team up? What if we complement each other instead of compete?’”
Agee said the Westover location now has a more diverse inventory of natural stone, concrete products, travertine and other stone-related hardscape materials. He described it as a “one-stop shop” for retaining walls and other outdoor projects.
“This is huge for the 280 corridor. It will help with jobs because we will need more workers and delivery drivers,” he said. “We’re right next to Chelsea, which is one of the fastest growing cities in Alabama. Now you can get something without going over the mountain.”
Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
GeoStone and SiteOne Stone Center’s sign.
Agee studied engineering at both Auburn and UAB and worked in the computer industry before coming to GeoStone, which his father still currently owns, in 2000. He said he has worked under the tutelage of many engineers and has taught several continuing education classes on retaining walls.
“I decided I can be an average guy in the tech world, or I can be extremely tech in the construction world,” he said.
Agee said the company uses technology including 3-D modeling, Google Earth and drone footage to determine the best course of action when beginning a new project for a client.
“We have a 3-D modeling program called SketchUp, where if you want something like an outdoor kitchen or fireplace, you can easily see what it will look like in your backyard,” he said. “We’re highly specialized. You won’t get this going into just any landscape store.”
Agee said that although GeoStone and SiteOne are legally still two separate companies, they are now on the same team and planning expansion into other states together.
“Our sign outside says GeoStone and underneath it says SiteOne,” he said. “It’s a really cool story of a local small business moving on to a national stage.”
The SiteOne Stone Center is located at 11321 U.S. 280 in Westover, and SiteOne Landscape Supply is located at 7347 Alabama 119.
For more information, call 205-678-9969 or visit geostone.com and siteone.com.
